Sexual Harassment

News about Sexual Harassment, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jul. 25, 2015

Energy and Resources Institute, governing council of a leading energy institute in India, is replacing its director general Rajendra K Pachauri, who is facing accusations of sexual harassment; Pachauri has already resigned from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change over allegations. MORE

Jun. 2, 2015

Owners committee from the WNBA's board of governors will examine Isiah Thomas's bid to become partial owner of the New York Liberty; investigation will focus on Thomas's tenure as president, coach and adviser to the New York Knicks, during which he was accused of sexual harassment. MORE

May. 28, 2015

Pennsylvania State University withdraws recognition of Kappa Delta Rho fraternity after discovery that chapter members used secret Facebook page to post photos of drug use, hazing and sexual harassment of women. MORE

May. 22, 2015

Isiah Thomas is officially introduced at news conference as team president of WNBA's New York Liberty; faces nagging questions about sexual harassment charges against him in 2007 during his tenure as New York Knicks executive for Madison Square Garden organization, which also owns Liberty. MORE

May. 7, 2015

Feminist group at University of Mary Washington in Virginia files complaint alleging that university failed to protect them from threats and harassment in months leading up to death of student Grace Rebecca Mann; complaint does not charge school with responsibility for Mann's death. MORE

May. 6, 2015

Former New York Knicks coach and executive Isiah Thomas returns to Madison Square Garden as president of New York Liberty seven and half years after being charged with sexual harassment of female team executive during his time as president and coach of Knicks. MORE

May. 6, 2015

Michael Powell Sports of The Times column notes that New York Knicks owner James L Dolan has hired former Knicks executive and coach Isiah Thomas as president of WNBA team New York Liberty; asserts that neither Dolan nor Thomas appears to be repentant for 2008 scandal involving wrongful firing of female executive who complained of sexual harassment by Thomas. MORE

Apr. 19, 2015

Brittany Bronson Op-Ed article considers question of what it means to be feminist while also working as cocktail waitress in Las Vegas casino, where sexual harassment is distressingly common. MORE

Apr. 15, 2015

Western Kentucky University suspends its swimming and diving programs for five years following investigation into hazing, Title IX violations and breaches of student conduct code; follows complaints from former freshman swimmer Collin Craig, who said he had been sexually assaulted and harassed on several occasions; other college sports news noted. MORE

Apr. 14, 2015

Iranian Pres Hassan Rouhani orders ban on religious travel to holy city of Mecca in response to reports that Saudi airport officials sexually harassed two teenage boys; ban applies to minor, non-obligatory pilgrimages but it is unclear whether it will extend to annual hajj. MORE

Apr. 14, 2015

Chinese prosecutors decide not to immediately press charges against five female activists who were detained for weeks for campaigning against sexual harassment on public transportation; women, whose plight prompted condemnation from officials around world, are released on bail. MORE

Apr. 14, 2015

Two federal lawsuits filed by seven plaintiffs accuse former Yale School of Medicine professor Dr Rex L Mahnensmith of sexual harassment going back more than a decade; Mahnensmith had been removed as medical director of New Haven Dialysis Clinic over harassment complaints, and was subsequently forced to resign from Yale in 2014 as officials attempted to handle case quietly, but suit throws full light on situation. MORE

Mar. 31, 2015

New York City police question prominent film producer Harvey Weinstein after 22-year-old woman accuses him of groping her during private meeting; Weinstein, who is cooperating with authorities, has not been charged with any wrongdoing. MORE

Mar. 18, 2015

Justice Dept review of San Diego Police Dept recommends overhauling its supervision practices following period between 2009 and 2014 in which officers took advantage of women sexually. MORE

Mar. 15, 2015

Tony-nominated actress Marin Ireland is leading group of actors and theater professionals in push to unions to establish clear-cut protocols for registering and handling grievances about harassment; Ireland was victim of assault by fellow actor during London production and says in unregulated world of theater, victims, especially young ones, have little recourse when suffering abuse. MORE

Mar. 9, 2015

China detains nearly a dozen women's rights activists to forestall campaign against sexual harassment on public transportation; Pres Xi Jinping has clamped down on grass-roots activism, making it hard for many nonprofit groups to do their work. MORE

Mar. 8, 2015

Shannon Sun-Higginson's movie GTFO is one of several documentaries that examine pervasive culture of sexism and harassment of female players and developers in video game community. MORE

Feb. 25, 2015

Rajendra K Pachauri, chairman of United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, resigns after allegations of sexual harassment are filed against him in India. MORE

Feb. 15, 2015

Yale University bans Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity from campus until August 2016 for violations of university's policy on sexual misconduct, and for efforts to hinder inquiry into February 2014 incident. MORE

Feb. 15, 2015

Calvin Trillin Lives essay recalls having an excellent barber during high school, who also happened to consistently sneak in a stroke of his young customers' private parts at the end of a hair cut; notes that he and his friends all adopted the same method of avoiding the stroke rather than mentioning it. MORE

Feb. 6, 2015

Harvard University joins small but growing number of universities explicitly prohibiting sexual or romantic relationships between professors and undergraduates; change follows Obama administration investigation into handling of sexual assault accusations at colleges across nation, including Harvard; change is made public in document revising university's policy on sexual harassment. MORE

Feb. 6, 2015

Victoria Burhans and Chloe Rivera, onetime aides who sued former New York State Assemblyman Vito J Lopez for sexual harassment, settle their case against Lopez and former speaker Sheldon Silver, who was accused of failing to intervene; receive $580,000 payout. MORE

Dec. 11, 2014

Roger Bird, senior party official in UK Independence Party, has been accused of sexually harassing prospective parliamentary candidate Natasha Bolter; scandal threatens UKIP's efforts to brand itself as defender of traditional British habits and values. MORE

Dec. 2, 2014

Three men are detained in Haryana, India, after being accused of sexually harassing two sisters, Aarti and Pooja Kumar, on public bus during altercation; incident was captured on video, which was posted online and spread quickly on social networks. MORE

Nov. 22, 2014

British government bars American dating seminar company executive Julien Blanc from entering the country for a series of scheduled speaking events; move comes amid public outcry over Blanc's abusive techniques, which some say promote sexual harassment and violence against women; officials say denial of entry is rare power usually reserved for terrorism suspects. MORE

Nov. 15, 2014

Yale Medical School removes Dr Michael Simons as director of its Cardiovascular Research Center after finding of sexual harassment in nearly five-year-old case involving postdoctoral researcher Annarita Di Lorenzo. MORE

Nov. 6, 2014

Federal investigation into Princeton University's sexual misconduct and discrimination policies finds that school has not met the standards set forth in Title IX; Education Department's Office of Civil Rights reports that university failed to provide prompt and fair response to allegations of sexual misconduct. MORE

Nov. 2, 2014

Sexual harassment case that has been unfolding without public notice for nearly five years within Yale School of Medicine has roiled institution and led to new allegations that university is insensitive to instances of harassment against women; case, which involves former head of cardiology department, comes as dozens of colleges are under federal scrutiny for their handling of sexual misconduct allegations against students. MORE

Oct. 26, 2014

Philip Galanes Table For Three column on interview with actress Julianna Margulies and Senator Kirsten Gillbrand, who share a fierce determination to free women from harassment and children from sexual abuse. MORE

Oct. 19, 2014

Ginia Bellafante Big City column calls for examination of sexism experienced by women in restaurant industry; notes that tipped workers who are female are particularly subject to harassment because they depend directly on customers for their livelihood; points to data showing that more than 90 percent of female restaurant workers have experienced harassment. MORE

Oct. 16, 2014

Dozens of Harvard Law School faculty members ask the university to withdraw its new sexual misconduct policy, saying process is overwhelmingly stacked against the accused, violating basic principles of fairness; Harvard College and Harvard Law School are among dozens of institutions being investigated by federal Education Dept over how sexual assault and sexual harassment complaints are handled. MORE

Sep. 20, 2014

Current and former female firefighters of United States Forest Service file a complaint with the Agriculture Dept alleging that they suffered job discrimination, harassment and sexual abuse at the hands of male co-workers and that top agency officials failed to stop it. MORE

Aug. 27, 2014

Brooklyn high school teacher Sean Shaynak is arraigned on charges he sent sexually explicit photograph of his genitals to 16-year-old female student over popular messaging app Snapchat. MORE

Aug. 13, 2014

Columbia University cancels campuswide concert Bacchanal, following months of criticism about school's policies on addressing sexual assaults on campus; student groups say move was made to reduce sexual assaults on campus but school officials deny harassment concerns played a part in decision. MORE

Aug. 12, 2014

Christie Aschwanden First Person essay notes research showing that high percentage of women working in sciences experience sexual harassment or gender-based discrimination in workplace; says true change can happen only with shift in culture from within, requiring chief executives, professors and editors in chief to take a stand. MORE

Jul. 25, 2014

Ohio State University fires Jon Waters, director of its renowned marching band, due to band's culture of sexually-charged hazing and alcohol abuse. MORE

Jul. 19, 2014

University of Connecticut will pay $1.28 million to settle lawsuit brought by five students who allege that the university was indifferent to their claims of sexual assault and harassment. MORE

Jul. 3, 2014

Harvard University will hire a team of investigators to deal specifically with sexual harassment and assault complaints, and it will end a fragmented approach that allows various parts of the university to handle such cases differently. MORE

Jul. 2, 2014

Whitney Wolfe, former executive at popular dating start-up Tinder, files lawsuit against company, along with its majority owner IAC/InterActiveCorp, claiming she was subject to sexual harassment and discrimination. MORE

Jul. 1, 2014

Frank Bruni Op-Ed column argues that long-delayed ouster of Dov Charney from American Apparel, following a decade of sexual harassment allegations, highlights a troubling tolerance of such transgression by powerful men; criticizes misguided notion that uncontrolled lust is part of the package when it comes to eccentric and driven leaders. MORE

Jun. 27, 2014

Interviews reveal details of boardroom coup that ousted American Apparel founder Dov Charney following years of declining stock value, sexual harassment accusations and other illegal escapades; four core board members plotted ouster, widely seen as overdue, that was finalized in a deeply contentious, nine-hour board meeting. MORE

Jun. 22, 2014

American Apparel founder and chief executive Dov Charney is fired after internal investigation finds he misused company money and allowed and employ to post naked pictures on the Internet of a female former employee who had sued Charney for sexual harassment. MORE

Apr. 25, 2014

Group of Columbia University students files complaints with federal government, charging systematic mishandling of assault claims and mistreatment of victims by the university; Columbia has been facing pressure to overhaul its approach to sexual assault and harassment. MORE

Apr. 24, 2014

Navy officials report that Capt Gregory McWherter, former commanding officer of Blue Angels naval squadron has been removed from duty at a San Diego base over accusations of tolerating sexual harassment and hazing while in charge of group. MORE

Apr. 21, 2014

The company said the investigation, into gender-based harassment, found no evidence of illegal practices. MORE

Apr. 16, 2014

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio signs bill intended to insure that unpaid interns in city will have right to sue if they are harassed or discriminated against by an employer; thousands of interns flock to city in summer. MORE

Apr. 10, 2014

Brooklyn painter and illustrator Tatyana Fazlalizadeh has brought her public art project, Stop Telling Women to Smile, to Georgia; project involves no-nonsense images and phrases that focus on street harassment of women by men. MORE

Mar. 29, 2014

Group of 12 women who say they were paid less than men and were sexually harassed while working for Sterling Jewelers stores Jared and Kay Jewelers, file suit; accuse largest retail jewelry company in United States of engaging in gender discrimination since 2003. MORE

Mar. 7, 2014

Sgt First Class Michael McClendon of United States Military Academ in West Point, NY, pleads guilty in case that he secretly videotaped female cadets, some as they undressed in locker room; will serve a 33-month sentence, followed by reduction in rank to private and dismissal from Army. MORE

Feb. 18, 2014

Police in Goa, India, charge investigative journalist and magazine editor Tarun J Tejpal with raping and sexually assaulting a staff reporter in November; case sends tremors through journalistic circles in the country, where Tejpal is known as a crusader for liberal causes and enjoys celebrity status. MORE